


Defense Mechanisms

by spinner33



Series: Big Softie [2]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Bathtub Sex, Domestic Violence, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 05:23:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4991833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinner33/pseuds/spinner33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follows "Big Softie" </p>
<p>Steve wants to teach self-defense to Grace's Aloha Girls troop, but some of the parents are reluctant to accept his help.  In finding a solution to the problem, Steve finds himself the target of an adversary from his past in Naval Intelligence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Boss? There’s an Ensign Ruskowski here to see you.” 

McGarrett bounced excitedly out of his chair, and rushed to greet the soldier who was standing in the outer office area. Kono watched with suspicion as Steve beamed and shook the ensign’s hand. He moved around excitedly, like he was ready to clutch her in a bear hug. Ruskowski was about Kono’s age, with a ramrod straight spine, and a dirty-blonde bun tucked close to the nape of her neck, hiding under her hat. Kono noted the medical caduceus pinned to her cover. After shaking McGarrett’s meaty paw, Ruskowski rested her right elbow on her sidearm in an unconscious gesture. 

“Commander McGarrett, my CO contacted me on your behalf.”

“Come in. Call me ‘Steve’.” 

“Commander, Steve,” Ruskowski said slowly, and not without a certain degree of distrust. 

“Thanks for agreeing to help me out, Ensign Ruskowski. I’m very grateful.” 

“Hold up. I haven’t agreed to anything yet, sir. Captain Karlsen was fuzzy on the details. She said to report to you, and do whatever I can to help you out. What precisely do you need from me?” 

“I need someone who can teach basic self-defense. Nothing fancy. Nothing exotic. You’ll be working primarily with Officer Kono Kalakaua. One Saturday, maybe two.” 

“The captain mentioned kids?” Ruskowski questioned squeamishly. “You should know, sir, that I’m not great with kids.” 

“Nothing to panic over. Treat them like little sisters.” 

“I’m an only child, sir.” 

“Treat them like human beings, and you’ll be fine. Tank said you’d be perfect for this. You’re splitting your time between military police and nursing. You provide basic self-defense instructions to incoming female nursing student recruits. That’s what I’m looking for.” 

“My classes – they’re very informal. It’s more of a study group than an actual classroom. They are open to all new recruits, nursing or non-nursing, female and male,” Ruskowski pointed out diplomatically. 

“Do you think you can help me out?” Steve hoped. 

Danny was out of his office by this point, hurrying forward, frowning deeply. 

“Wait. Wait. Wait. McGarrett, what the hell is this?” Danny interjected. 

“What?” Steve said. 

“I thought you were going to teach self-defense to the girls.”

“Yeah, Boss. What gives?” Kono demanded. 

“McGarrett, I promised the girls that Uncle Steve would be the one to teach them self-defense," Danny continued to rant. 

“I…um…” Steve stammered uncharacteristically. “I’d love to….but…” 

“You saved their bacon on that nature trip, and now they’ve adopted you as one of their pack. These kids – they’re like wild wolves, and they like you. They really like you. You bought their cookies. You let them take over your house for a pizza party. You let them watch movies. You taught them how to put out a kitchen fire with salt and baking soda. Sorry again about the microwave. How can you even think of breaking twenty tiny hearts this way? Think of how disappointed Grace will be, for starters,” Danny pouted. Grace wasn’t the only one who was going to be upset.

“I’ll still be there,” Steve promised. He was anxious to alleviate Danny’s misgivings while at the same time sticking to the course of action. “Miss Madeline and I had a long talk. We’ve decided it would be far more appropriate for Kono and Ensign Ruskowski to teach self-defense to the girls. That’s all.”

“You decided? When did you decide this?”

“When we talked,” Steve shrugged.

“Why didn’t you consult me?” 

“Because I knew you’d lose your shit over it,” Steve answered honestly. “Have a big fit. Make a scene. I was hoping to avoid the usual drama.” 

“The girls want you, Steve. Not some stranger. No offense, lady.”

“The name is Ruskowski,” she said grimly. 

“Danny, Miss Madeline said there are parents who are concerned about why I would want to hang out with a troop of Aloha Girls. I’m single. I have no kids of my own. It’s a legitimate question, and I understand their concerns,” Steve said, taking Danny’s arm, rubbing his elbow. 

“But.....” Danny said softly.

“Aloha Girls?” Ruskowski cringed.

“I needed a solution to the problem, and here she is. Make nice with the ensign.” 

Danny crossed his arms over his chest. 

“Who is maligning you like this? Are they accusing you of being a perv? I will personally punch them in the face.” 

“Miss Madeline wouldn’t name names,” Steve shrugged. 

“Do they know who you are?” Danny wondered. 

“Yes, and that’s apparently part of the problem.” 

“You’re a decorated soldier. You’re an ass-kicking cop. Do these mental midgets not understand that you put away the people who hurt children? That you’ve devoted the majority of your life to defending this country? That you’re the reason this island has had a measureable drop in crime in the last five years?”

“That doesn’t make one bit of difference.”

“Asshats,” Danny frowned. 

“I can’t believe they think you’re perving out over this,” Kono grumbled. “Now I want to punch them in the face.” 

“I can see their point of view. They don’t know me personally. They only know what they’ve seen. And we all know how badly I suck at first impressions,” Steve said in a self-deprecating manner which made Danny’s face cloud with defensive sympathy. “What’s important to me is that the girls get self-defense training. It doesn’t have to be me doing the teaching,” Steve explained as he motioned to Ensign Ruskowski. 

The young soldier had studied the three of them during their exchange. Her dark brown eyes narrowed as she shifted on her feet. 

“You want me to teach self-defense to a bunch of squealing tweens?” she frowned. 

“Yes, please,” Steve nodded. 

Ruskowski gave McGarrett a disgruntled snort. 

“Why exactly are you hanging out with these girls, Commander?” 

“I went along as a guide on one of their camping trips, to teach them jungle survival skills, and I kind of got attached to them,” Steve offered. Danny’s eyebrows went north at the comment. He was fighting a smile, maybe because he disagreed with Steve’s point of view of the entire incident, or maybe because he was reliving that camping trip in his brain. Whatever the reason for Danny’s response, his reaction made Ruskowski very uncomfortable. 

“And?” she questioned.

“An armed intruder breached the camp, and kidnapped one of the girls.”

“This nutjob and his partner in crime almost killed Lucy and Steve, and they did shoot another hiker in the woods that day. Steve is the only reason Lucy is alive,” Danny defended angrily. 

“I want to prepare the girls so if something like that ever happens again, they will know what to do. This is not about sexual perversion, Ensign. I have my share of kinks, but sex with little girls isn’t one of them. Also, I have a younger sister. I can relate to what a girl has to go through. I want to help better prepare these girls to defend themselves,” McGarrett rambled. 

Ruskowski didn’t look the least bit moved. If anything, she was even more skeptical. She rocked on her feet and bit the inside of her cheek. 

“May I be candid, sir?” she blurted. 

“By all means, Ensign.” 

“You having a little sister does not give you any deep emotional insight into what a woman goes through.”

“No offense meant, Ensign,” Steve replied grimly. 

“Are you using this scheme to get into some Aloha Girl’s mother’s pants?” Ruskowski asked bluntly. 

McGarrett’s mouth fell open, and his face turned as black as a thunder cloud. 

“Stow that attitude, Ensign!” McGarrett boomed, getting right up in Ruskowski’s face, jumping from civilian mode to military mode in the blink of an eye. Ruskowski gulped, and nervously sprang upright, hands down at her sides, chin and eyes forward. She had not been expecting Steve to explode. He stared her down, his mouth a thin line. 

“No offense meant, sir!” she offered. 

Danny stepped up, putting a hand between McGarrett and Ruskowski, gently guiding Steve back. Williams started to speak three different times, hands parting, coming together, touching his fingertips to his lips, before he decided on the right response. He cackled at Ruskowski’s discomfort, cleared his throat, and finally spoke. 

“Ensign, this is not about getting into someone’s pants. My daughter Grace is part of the troop, and Steve is doing this as a favor to me, his friend and his partner. He’s doing this because he’s a nice guy who likes kids. He’s not a fucking pervert. This man is not some jackoff in the park in a dirty overcoat. Are we clear on that?” 

“My apologies, sirs.”

McGarrett seethed, his eyes poisonous with anger and pain. 

“Dismissed, Ensign Ruskowski,” McGarrett growled with a feral snarl. Danny had a feeling if Ruskowski had been a man, Steve would have knocked him out cold. 

“Yes, sir,” the ensign said, snapping a salute at Steve, which he reluctantly returned. 

McGarrett’s cheerful mood had been totally destroyed. Ruskowski slinked shamefully out of the office. Steve returned to his desk, somber and very annoyed. Danny couldn’t help but feel that the anger was a façade to cover some serious lip-in-lap syndrome though. 

Williams went back into his office and collected his car keys from the desktop. He appeared again in the common area, keys jingling. 

“I’ll be back,” he murmured to Kono and Chin. 

“Where you going?” Chin wondered. 

“My turn to pick up Grace from school,” Danny said. 

“Jersey, how can you leave at a time like this? It’s like someone killed his puppy,” Kono pined. Danny was already headed into Steve’s office. He closed the door behind himself. 

“Hey, Big Kahuna. You all right?” 

“Fine.” 

McGarrett was anything but fine. He was hiding down behind his defensive walls. This situation was bad enough on its own, being suspected of perversion, but Danny could feel it in his bones that there was more going on below the surface with Steve than McGarrett was willing to talk about. If they hadn’t been at the office, Danny would have taken Steve’s mind off this whole fiasco with a slow, gentle, toe-curling fuck, one that would last all afternoon. But this was neither the time nor the place. 

“I’m’a pop out. Pick up Gracie. Bring you something?”

“Are you attempting to escape our workout tonight?” 

“No. I….” Danny gulped. Actually, he had forgotten his promise to join Steve at his favorite gym. 

“I said I’d help you strengthen your knee, but you have to be there, with your knee, for that to work.”

“I’ll be there,” Danny promised.

“I’ll save a seat for you,” Steve mumbled, putting his chin in his hand, and his nose in his computer. His whole body was slouching. Danny had never seen him look so miserable. 

“Thanks, Big Guy,” Danny smiled. McGarrett grunted and bounced one shoulder, his nonverbal equivalent of saying ‘Whatever’. Williams stroked the door frame when what he really wanted to do was go over there and stroke McGarrett’s big shoulders. Danny retreated from Steve’s office with a sigh, and nearly had a heart attack when he found Kono right behind him. 

“What do we do?” Kono worried.

“Give him some space to calm down. Maybe slip him some chocolate, or a couple cookies. Send him some baby kitty pictures or something.” 

“Look at him,” Kono frowned. “There aren’t enough cute baby animal videos in the world to cure blues like that.” 

Chin was hunched at the computer, flipping through files, frowning to himself. Danny saw Grace’s picture flash by, and then his own picture. He put a hand on Chin’s hand and squinted at him. 

“ ‘Sup?” Williams asked.

“Doing a little digging on the parents of the girls in Grace’s scouting troop.” 

“To what end?” 

“I’m going to find out who has a grudge against Steve and why.”

“Great minds think alike. I’m’a pick up my favorite Aloha Girl. Grill her about her friends. Find out if she knows whose parents are maligning McGarrett’s magnanimous gesture. I’ll let you know what I find out,” Danny replied. 

“Likewise,” Chin smiled conspiratorial. 

“What do I do to help?” Kono asked. 

“Baby kitty videos,” Danny repeated. 

Kono rolled her eyes, and headed for McGarrett’s office. 

“Hey, Boss? I’m headed to the firing range, get in a couple hours’ of practice ahead of my firearms recertification next week. You wanna come with?” 

Steve’s face brightened a degree or two. It’s not like he didn’t see through what Kono was doing. But he jumped eagerly at the distraction. 

“Sure. Let me grab my things.” 

Kono turned around, giving Danny and Chin a wink and a thumbs up as she grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * edited to clear up timeline discrepancy *

Danny was late getting to the gym. But that wasn’t his fault. His attempts at lubricating Gracie to get her to talk about her friends and their parents hadn’t yielded anything beneficial. He had struck out in spite of his best efforts, at the cost of new clothes, shave ice, and a couple tubes of expensive lip gloss. Admitting defeat, Danny had dropped Grace at Rachel’s, and called Chin on the way to the gym. Kelly had had better luck. 

“I’ve been expecting your call,” Chin purred, phone tucked into the cup holder as he drove home. “Those parents were a gold mine of bad habits and speeding tickets. Thank goodness those girls have a positive outlet with the troop.”

“Anyone in particular stand out to you?” Danny asked, swerving around the corner into the gym parking lot.

“The best of the bunch is an asshat rear admiral at Pearl-Hickam who butted heads with McGarrett when he was in Annapolis in Naval Intelligence. Admiral David Cleaver. The admiral was a captain then, and stationed at Fort Meade.” 

“Why were Cleaver and McGarrett butting heads?” Danny asked hopefully.

“All the official files are sealed.” 

“That’s curious.” 

“I hit up the defense attorney to see what he had to say about his former client. The gag order extends to both sides. Supposedly a matter of national security.”

“What did Mr. Asshat Rear Admiral do?” Danny wondered. 

“Even though his files are sealed, the same cannot be said of Mrs. Cleaver.” 

“What did you find out?” 

“It’s a domestic violence situation.” 

“Why do you say that?” 

“There was one incident off-base where Mrs. Cleaver had to be transported by ambulance to Anne Arundel Medical Center. The story was she fell down the steps after having one too many at a cocktail party. But the story didn’t measure up to the manner and method of her injuries. The authorities convinced the admiral’s wife to press charges, and swear out a restraining order. They moved her into Sara’s House on Fort Meade. It’s a battered women’s shelter. But before the case could come to court, the restraining order was withdrawn, and the charges were dismissed.”

“Let me guess. The admiral made nice.” 

“He bought Mrs. Cleaver a three-carat apology, swore he’d never do it again, and she moved back home,” Chin explained. 

“Patty Cleaver. She’s the one in Grace’s Aloha Girls’ Troop. She’s all of ten? How long ago was this thing happen that wasn’t sealed by the military?” 

“This would have been years before Patty would have been born.” 

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I can think of only one reason you wouldn’t want your daughter to take a self-defense course.”

“Because she might learn how to defend herself against you?” 

“Bingo.” 

“You’re saying this asshat is abusing his wife and his daughter both? I want this guy, Chin. I want this guy bad.” 

“Already on it. I asked Duke to put a surveillance team on the Cleavers.” 

“Does Steve know?” 

“No.”

“Can I tell him?” 

“Use your own judgment. If you do tell Steve, tread carefully. He might not have been allowed to act against Cleaver within the military justice system, but now that Steve is part of a civilian police force, maybe he can take another swing at that piñata.”

“Damn straight,” Danny replied. “See you tomorrow. Thanks again, Chin.” 

“My pleasure,” Kelly grinned, disconnecting the call. 

Danny hurried into the gym, dodging cars in the parking lot. The atmosphere inside was a disturbing blend of music, chatter, TV noise, and basic chaos. Danny jingled his car keys, and couldn’t seem to decide where to put them. The sweats he had chosen didn’t have pockets. What idiot makes sweats without pockets? Danny paused right in the travel path. How in the world was he going to find Steve in all these people? He had thought it would be as easy as spotting the buffest dude around, but the majority of these gym rats were military, with sharp, tight haircuts, and well-toned and muscular bodies. Danny felt downright sloppy in comparison. He chastised himself for wearing a worn and ill-fitting teeshirt. He wasn’t so sure this was even his teeshirt. He reflected on the fact it hung far too low around his hips. He decided it was probably Steve’s shirt. It gave him a warm feeling inside to think that their laundry was beginning to co-mingle. 

A pair of burly guys brushed past either side of Danny, giving him identical dirty looks for standing in the road. They shouldered towels with simultaneous, choreographed movements that were eerie to watch. A herd of women jogged past, all wearing yoga gear. A woman leading a troop of youngsters crossed through the main area, headed for the swimming pool. 

Stationary bikes. Steve had mentioned stationary bikes. Danny craned up to see around the tall woman in front of him. The bikes were in the far corner, and there wasn’t a single one open. Danny headed along the narrow path between pods of weight machines, hoping the woman he was behind didn’t think he was following her, or staring at her ass. Because Danny was pretty sure he’d come out on the losing end of any disagreement with her. 

There was quite the crowd at the bikes, and at the elliptical machines right behind the bikes. The walls were covered in mirrors. It was creepy, the way the reflections made the crowds feel even larger. Danny wondered why the bikes and the elliptical machines were so popular. He fought through the dizzying reflections, and set his eyes on the dark-haired man in the middle of the front row.

Danny might have known! McGarrett had his head down, eyes closed, muscular legs pedaling hard. The SEAL’s long, lean body shimmered with sexy streaks of exertion, like a mirage in the desert. Danny’s mouth was suddenly very dry. Steve pedaled as if he were being chased. His head bobbed left and right as he got into whatever music was coming from the earbuds which snaked up through his shirt from an unseen music player. A tiny snort escaped Danny’s chest as he smiled. Leave it to McGarrett to be totally unaware he was the center of so much attention. 

The music worked down into McGarrett’s hips. His butt wiggle brought a smile to several faces. Danny could understand the popularity of these machines now. Steve’s wide shoulders and sculpted back drew attention downward to his slender waist and tight hips. A quiver of delight darted through Danny’s body. Good thing his sweats were loose and his teeshirt was long. 

_‘Me. Danny Williams. I'm taking that home tonight. Every beautiful inch of him,’_ Danny thought gleefully as he headed in Steve’s direction. 

Danny set a hand on the small of Steve’s back. He wanted to trace his fingertips up the line of dampness that marred Steve’s shirt, wanted to feel Steve quiver like he had last night when Danny had traced his spine and sucked his neck, and screwed him hard into the mattress, leaving McGarrett a shuddering, sweaty mess. Common sense dictated that they needed to be careful in public though. Danny tempered the caress with a macho whack or two. 

McGarrett inhaled and opened his eyes, his back shooting up straight. He had been annoyed at first, ready to take a swing, but the second he saw it was Danny, his big warm grin shone through. Steve pulled out his earbuds, and dropped to the ground. Some kind of bad crap was blasting out, buzzing like an angry bug. Was that Limp Bizkit’s Nookie? Really, Steve? Really? 

“You made it!” McGarrett exclaimed over all the noise around them. 

“Would I let you down?” Danny hollered. 

Steve rotated his back at the waist, hands on hips. He then slid his fingers down his ass to the backs of his thighs as he bent forward at the waist, dropping nearly perpendicular to stretch his aching muscles. Was he totally unaware of how many pairs of eyes were attached to him? His gravely groan did not help matters. Danny barely swallowed his chipmunk chuckle as one guy in the back tipped over off his bike, he was so hypnotized by the sight of McGarrett’s hands roaming over his own body. Steve stopped stretching and rubbing, and snatched up a bottle of cleaner and a couple of paper towels. He hosed off the seat and handlebars, moving speedily as he chattered. Eyes and sighs followed his every twist and tilt and bend.

“Perfect timing. Let me get you set up here. Sorry it’s so wet. It’s awful. I’m drenched. It’s so humid in here.”

“Thanks, babe,” Danny smiled back. Steve put the bottle of cleaner back on the floor, picked up his towel, and wrapped it around his shoulders. He picked up a second towel and gave it to Danny. Also gave him a water bottle. Danny could not stop staring at Steve. 

“You need a boost, Jersey?” McGarrett asked. 

“No,” Danny growled defensively. “It’s high for me, don’t you think?” 

“I’m such a dipshit. Let me adjust the seat.” 

Steve knelt down, fiddling with the mechanics for a few moments, raising and lowering the padded torture device. There was no way it was going to be comfortable, but a sore butt and aching balls was totally worth it to see the jealous faces all around as Steve fussed over him. Any chance to get McGarrett down on his knees. Danny mulled over dirty thoughts, certain he wasn’t the only one. 

“It won’t go back in the hole,” Steve complained. 

“That’s not usually a problem, is it?”

“Too tight,” Steve complained some more, fumbling with the bolt. 

“Move it back and forth. Loosen it up.”

“Needs to be lubed.” 

“I love it when you talk dirty,” Danny whispered, bending closer. 

Steve’s brows bunched together. He darted his eyes around. The other people were pretending to be engrossed elsewhere. He gave Danny a hairy eyeball, like he thought his friend was making fun of him.

“You need some WD-40?” Danny asked. 

“I got some in the truck,” Steve pointed over one shoulder. 

“Never mind. Let me try,” Danny said. “You had it in the wrong hole,” he smirked. Steve bit back a snort. Maybe he had finally gotten the joke? He guided Danny up into place on the bike seat like it was the saddle of a skittish horse. 

“Is that good?” Steve asked, one hand on Danny’s knee and the other on his back. 

“Too high,” Danny whined. He groaned in pain, almost fell off the bike, and instantly slid an arm around Steve’s shoulders for support. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t be doing this.” 

I’m all right, babe,” Danny soothed, fingers tracing through the wet hair at the nape of Steve’s neck. McGarrett smelled wonderful, there was no other way to describe him. Delicious cologne and personal musk. Was that a hint of black powder and gun cleaning oil? The trip to the firing range had been a stroke of genius on Kono’s part. Danny made a mental note to thank her later. The only thing missing was the smell of campfire smoke and fall leaves, and Danny would have mounted Steve right here, and given him the fuck of his life. 

Steve seemed to be measuring Danny’s thighs with a careful eye as he adjusted the seat. Or maybe he was busy wondering if Danny was wearing one of this teeshirts. McGarrett’s playful eyes climbed Danny’s legs and torso, and he smiled at an internal thought. This time when the seat was screwed back into place, Steve picked Danny up and set him on it, rather than making him climb. 

“You good? Put your feet on the pedals. Is that too high?”

“It’s perfect. Thanks, Dad,” Danny hollered back over all the noise. Steve’s brows twitched again, not in humor but in pain. Danny had brushed an emotional wound, and although he had been unaware, he was not unfeeling. What the hell was going on in there? Danny wanted to soothe his friend’s hurt, but Steve had already tucked his pain away again, had moved right along like it was nothing.

“I promise this will help. You want to stretch the joint out. You don’t want to hurt it more though. You want to get the blood flowing through the muscles and the joints. You want to work the tendons and the ligaments. You want music?”

Steve pulled up his shirt, holding the end between his teeth. He reached into his waist band, flashing inches of beautiful, furry skin, ripped abs, and a hint of white which must have been his briefs. They were soaked, and almost transparent below the waist band. Danny drooled when he spotted the lovebite he had left on Steve’s hip last night. He licked his lips unconsciously, remembering the taste of his skin and tangle of those fingers in his hair as Steve had writhed and pined in pleasure. Steve plucked out a small music player which had been tucked there at his waist. He untangled the earbuds and put them in Danny’s hand. 

“Sorry. They’re kinda wet too. I’m soaked, and these pants have no pockets. Who makes sweats with no pockets?” Steve babbled. “You good, Danno?” 

“I’m good, babe,” Danny replied. He patted Steve’s shoulder, and barely resisted the urge to smack a friendly peck on his cheek. McGarrett must have been thinking along the same lines. The tip of his tongue darted over his bottom lip. He fussed with his waist band, and smoothed the teeth marks out of his shirt tail.

“I know you hate when I stand around and critique, so I’ll be in the sparring room. Right over there. Don’t overdo it. Take it easy. Go slow. Don’t stay up there for more than fifteen or twenty minutes. Dismount on the other leg so you don’t overextended your hurt knee. I’ll be right back.” 

“You gonna stop hovering, dickhead?” Danny warned. 

Steve laughed and nodded. He patted Danny’s shoulder, and headed towards a small hallway and a back room. Was it Danny’s imagination, or were lots of people who had been on the bikes now headed off in the same direction Steve had gone? A few of them paused long enough to give Danny stink-eye before disappearing.

Danny fiddled around with Steve’s music player as he pedaled slowly. He didn’t like much of what was on it. It seemed so generic, and there wasn’t a single Bon Jovi song! Looked like Steve hadn’t uploaded anything new in quite some time. Danny glanced up when he saw movement in the mirrors. He couldn’t help but notice that more people were pouring down the hallway into the sparring room. Danny finally settled on a song that was familiar – Butterfly by Crazy Town. It was not something he could really picture Steve liking either, but it had a nice pedaling beat to it. 

Danny pedaled, and minutes passed. He was becoming suspicious of how many more people were crowding into the doorway and hallway where Steve had disappeared. What was going on back there? Was watching two guys square off in a square ring that enticing? Cold fear rushed Danny’s spine when someone popped out of the hallway, running full force for the double-glass doors, a look of fear on her pretty face. 

“Julio!” she shouted. 

The big guy manning the desk leapt over it like a pommel horse, and bounced in her direction. She pointed and rambled frantically. Julio rushed past, almost knocking Danny off the bike. 

This was officially not good. Danny climbed down, Butterfly echoing in his brain even after he pulled out the earbuds. There was whistling, shouting, and screaming coming from the sparring room. It sounded like an MMA ring in there. All hell was breaking loose. When he reached the end of the hallway, he caught a snatch or two of what was going on ahead. There were three guys circling around and attacking the dark-haired guy in the middle of the ring. Danny’s stomach dropped when he realized that the dark-haired man in the middle was McGarrett. 

“STEVE?!” Danny screamed out. 

Bad knee forgotten, Williams flew to Steve’s defense like a demon possessed. He fought his way through the crowds, throwing people to one side or the other to get closer. In the meantime, Steve took down Goon #1, drop-kicked him right out of the ring. The guy landed awkwardly, and stayed down.

The two remaining goons leapt at Steve simultaneously, but it wasn’t like McGarrett wasn’t getting his shots in at every opportunity. Steve connected a marvelous punch which levelled Goon #2. 

Danny was less than ten feet from the ring now, pushing and shoving to get through. He shouted Steve’s name, but McGarrett couldn’t hear him over all the noise and chaos. The harder Danny pushed and shoved forward, the harder the crowd held him back. 

Only Goon #3 was left, but he was the biggest and baddest. He had both arms around Steve’s neck from behind, and was attempting to choke McGarrett unconscious. Steve couldn’t shake him, or wriggle free. He wasn’t going down without a fight though. He rattled Goon #3’s ribs with an elbow, and twisted around inside the man’s grip, getting three more fast jabs in the goon’s right side. The goon’s grip was loosening as he fought for a breath. The bad news was that Goon #2 was shaking himself back to his senses, attempting to climb up to his knees. He glared hatefully at McGarrett, and grabbed his legs, throwing him off balance. Not without risk though. McGarrett kicked him twice in the face. 

Julio the desk guy was throwing people aside to get to the ring. Danny struggled and fought, but couldn’t penetrate the bodies blocking in his way. As Julio grabbed the ropes and vaulted into the ring, another figure jumped up through the ropes first. It was a squat, sturdy woman with gray-blonde hair and steely eyes. She was dressed in dark navy sweats with NHCH over the heart. The back of her shirt said in white letters: “As A Nurse, I’m Here To Save Your Ass, Not Kiss It”. Danny decided he liked her already, and that was before she got a grip on Goon #2, and flipped his ass over backwards onto the mats. 

“AT EASE, ENSIGN! That’s an order!” the woman bellowed. Everyone around the ring who was military froze at attention, fear on their faces. Goon #2 got a good look at the woman, and went pale as death. He snapped to his feet and whipped himself straight up at attention like everyone else. 

Julio danced around anxiously. He wanted to get both hands in between Steve and Goon #3, but there wasn’t a chance. Steve planted both feet on the floor, and with a snarl, he shoved backwards, up, and left. He rammed Goon #3 into the turnbuckle in the corner. The sickening snap was audible. A groan of sympathy went through the crowd. Goon #3 wailed in agony, and had no choice but to let go of McGarrett. The goon dropped, mouth hanging open, holding his arm like it might fall off his body. 

“Lieutenant Green! Off your ass, and on your feet!” the woman in the ring bellowed, putting herself with Julio between McGarrett and the man on the ground in the corner. 

“That bastard broke my arm!” Green wailed. 

“Your arm and your collarbone, asshole,” McGarrett taunted. 

Julio grinned and patted Steve’s back. McGarrett thanked him with a nod. Danny finally managed to get through the crowd, and clawed his way up into the ring. Danny wanted to assess McGarrett’s condition, but one look told him to approach with caution, and under no circumstances should he mother him. Steve was like an angry jaguar, complete with flashing fangs and swishing tail. The collar of Steve’s tee was ripped open wide. McGarrett yanked the ruined shirt off, and wiped away the blood on his nose and mouth. He was holding down his temper but only barely. Steve pedaling on a stationary bike had made people swoon. But the sight of him dripping blood and panting for breath, eyes dark with hate and power? 

“I can’t leave you alone for five minutes,” Williams complained to cover his concern. McGarrett gave a grim snicker, brushing away the blood again.

“Present yourself, soldier,” the woman in the ring commanded, wiggling one finger at McGarrett. 

“Yes, Captain!” Steve snapped to attention and submitted himself to her inspection. Said captain slid a hand under Steve’s face, and tugged him left and right by the lower jaw so she could look into his eyes, then up his nose. She loosened her grip, patted his cheek, and let him straighten up again. 

“You’ll live, McGarrett, against all odds apparently,” she decided with a quick smirk. Danny sensed that they knew each other. 

“Thanks, Tank,” Steve purred roguishly, confirming Danny’s theory. 

“You wanna tell me what happened?” the captain asked as Danny did a little math, and thought, well, it wasn't out the question that Steve and this woman might have been very well acquainted indeed. But he wanted to say no even as his jealous heart offered up that dirty suggestion. Steve was known to roam, to charm people far and wide, but the captain was wearing a wedding ring, and she had more the manner of a mother hen than a seductive she-devil. 

“No idea, Captain,” Steve rumbled. “I was minding my own business when they made their move. Real subtle, like elephants in tap shoes,” McGarrett mocked, giving the two closest goons very derisive side-eye. 

“Green? Collins?” the captain whirled on the others. “What do you have to say for yourselves?” 

Two of the three goons stared at each other, then at the captain, then down at the ground. Their companion groaned and stirred to life outside the ring. 

“All right. We can do this the hard way. Gentlemen, I will see the four of you in my office at Pearl in one hour. In uniform, if you please. You too, Commander.” 

“Yes, Captain,” Steve replied with a respectful salute. He took Danny by the arm, and climbed back out of the ring, heading for the hallway and the exit. Danny watched the captain's face -- her eyes were on Steve, and they were filled with motherly affection. She turned her attention to the goons who had attacked Steve, and her expression did a complete 180. 

“Did I stutter? My office! One hour! Move out!” she bellowed. 

“Yes, Captain!” the goons whimpered, fleeing for a different exit.


	3. Chapter 3

Captain Brenna Karlsen’s steel-gray eyes were as hard as the sides of a battleship in icy seas. Her face could fairly be compared to the same steel plates of the same battleship. She was all jaw from most perspectives. She had no forehead to speak of beyond a couple ripples of annoyance. Her mouth was a long, narrow red gash. Hadn’t Steve called her ‘Tank’ at the gym? There was no mystery to Danny how the captain might have come by that tough nickname. She was proof that a woman did not have to be six foot tall and gorgeous, or blessed with massive boobs, in order to command attention. Karlsen was descended from Norwegian immigrant farmers, a squat, strong people who would have tilled 150 acres of land before noon, and then built a barn for a neighbor before sunset. Karlsen had a take-charge manner about her which made both men and women rush to obey, for fear of dire consequences otherwise.

The captain stood in front of her desk, displeasure evident on her scrunched face as she surveyed the three young soldiers withering before her. One had an arm in a sling. The other two had black eyes and battered faces. None of them would meet her chilling gaze. Karlsen was inches from bending these boys over one knee, and she might just do that if they continued to get in her way of having a peaceful evening. Her phone was closed in the top desk drawer, but it was buzzing at ten minute intervals. Someone was trying to reach her, but she was clearly very busy. 

“Ma’am, the situation got out of hand. A misunderstanding, that’s all.” 

“Lieutenant Green, don’t bullshit me,” Karlsen warned ominously from an inch away. “I am not your Boy Scout den mother. I am your superior officer, and you’re going to explain yourself to my satisfaction, or there will be hell to pay.”

A knock at her door interrupted. 

“Enter!” she shouted. Green flinched and recoiled. 

McGarrett turned the knob, and timidly poked his head in. 

“Leave the door open, Commander McGarrett,” Karlsen ordered. Steve thought that was a peculiar request, but he obeyed. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve answered. 

McGarrett pushed the portal against the wall, and gave Danny a tentative glance. Detective Williams was waiting in the outer area with the captain’s receptionist. The soldier at the desk was biting back a wicked smile. Steve marched up behind the three men in the chairs, faced the Captain, and waited for her next command. Danny knew that Pearl-Hickam was comprised of both Navy and Air Force personnel. He knew Captain Karlsen was Navy, that she was responsible for one third of the nurses on the base and at the medical clinic. He wondered if it was common practice for soldiers of one branch to obey the commands of the superior officers of the other branches of the military. Collins and Green both wore Navy uniforms. But the third guy was in a different outfit. He must have been Air Force. 

“Ensign Mendez. Ensign Collins. Lieutenant Green. Lieutenant Commander McGarrett,” the captain began by introducing the four men to each other. The younger soldiers sprang up out of their seats, nervous about having Steve behind them. Steve was back in jaguar mode, eyes dark and dangerous. The three younger men stood nervously off to the other side.

“Please tell me you jackasses had no idea the man you ganged-up on is not only a highly-decorated Navy SEAL and former Naval Intelligence Officer, but the man who currently runs the Major Crimes Task Force for the Governor of Hawaii,” the captain rumbled. She glanced at the drawer as the phone buzzed again. 

“We know who he is. The admiral told us all about him,” Collins started, but Green cut him off with a kick in the foot. 

“Then you were aware? That’s lovely. Did you go looking for the Commander for any particular reason, gentlemen?” Karlsen shouted. 

Her voice was making the pictures in the outer office shake. Danny wasn’t even the one in trouble, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Steve took a deep breath, and clutched his cover a bit tighter. 

“Do you three have any idea how many times I have patched this particular Navy SEAL back together, mission after mission, when he was putting his life on the line for this country, since before you idiots were in junior high, crushing on the pretty blonde in your math class?”

“No, ma’am,” Collins muttered. The other two silently shook their heads. 

“I take it very personally when someone attacks a soldier that I have nursed back to health. You have brought embarrassment and shame upon your uniform and upon your fellow soldiers. What do you have to say for yourselves?” Karlsen boomed. 

“Admiral Cleaver said….” Collins was the first to crack again. His voice died away when Green gave him a side-eye warning. Captain Karlsen got in Collins’ face. 

“Lieutenant, if you interfere again in Ensign Collins’ responses to my questions, I will knock you through that back wall. What exactly did Admiral Cleaver say to you, Collins?” Captain Karlsen asked, her scrunched head darting to the stammering ensign. 

“Nothing, ma’am,” Collins whimpered when Mendez shot him an acidic stare this time. The captain glared malevolently back and forth between the three younger soldiers, and drew herself up in height once more. 

“Out with it, Collins,” Karlsen rumbled. “We haven’t got all fucking night.” 

“The admiral warned us about McGarrett. Said they had had issues in Annapolis. It’s not normal for a grown man with no kids to want to hang out with a bunch of Girl Scouts. The admiral said a lot more than that too,” Collins blurted, eyes darting to Danny in the hallway. The phone in the receptionist’s area was ringing loudly. She answered, her voice a distant mumble. 

“I don’t doubt Admiral Cleaver had a great deal to say about Commander McGarrett. They are very well acquainted. Go on,” the captain urged. 

“McGarrett’s an arrogant ass who thinks he’s God’s Gift to the Navy. But he’s never been married. He has no kids, no family here. His own sister hates him so much she lives on the mainland. He hangs out with a buddy and his little girl, and now he wants to spend time with a bunch of Girl Scouts? Sorry, Captain, but that’s not normal,” Lieutenant Green offered, shooting Steve a dirty glare before dropping his eyes. 

“Aloha Girls, not Girl Scouts. It’s two different organizations,” Danny interjected from the hallway. Everyone except Steve turned and glared for the interruption. McGarrett was biting back a smirk. Maybe he knew how hard it was for Danny to keep his mouth shut. Danny got up and moved over one chair. Decided he was not yet close enough. Moved over another chair. Finally he moved to the last chair in the row, which afforded him a direct view of the office. 

“Thank you for that sparkling bit of insight, Detective,” Karlsen replied crisply. It was hard to tell if she was annoyed or not, above the irritation she was already feeling. If she hadn’t wanted Danny to overhear what they were saying, then why hadn’t she asked Steve to close the door to her office? It was clear she wanted Danny to know what was going on. 

“My mother is a criminal prosecutor for Chicago. She’s the reason I am studying law. I’ve read enough sexual abuse cases to know that the Commander fits the profile of an offender,” Mendez chimed in. “To a T!”

Steve looked towards the hallway, flushing with embarrassment. He could see Danny swelling with defensive anger, his butt barely maintaining contact with the seat cushion. Williams was sputtering with fury. With one hand, McGarrett motioned ‘Down, boy’. Danny stayed put out of respect for Steve alone. Captain Karlsen pretended she couldn’t see what was going on between McGarrett and Williams. 

“You three put your heads together, and decided you’d take care of the admiral’s problem, did you?” she mocked. 

“Someone needs to put a stop to him,” Lieutenant Green commented snidely. Karlsen took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and marched back and forth, muttering to herself before speaking to them again. 

“You don’t think it’s obvious what’s going on here? Green, is this another one of your desperate attempts to impress Ensign Ruskowski? Hoping to charm your way into her pink-heart covered panties?” 

“No, ma’am!” Green denied aggressively.

“You think I haven’t seen you following her around, hanging on her every word, acting like her ass is lined in gold?”

“Captain, it’s nothing to do with Rusky,” the soldier denied. “The admiral said he would appreciate if we handled this problem for him, and that’s what we were doing. Leave Rusky alone. This isn’t about her.” 

“Admiral Cleaver. Dave. Dave. Dave. I honestly wish you were in a position to appreciate the irony of this situation, and how that man is using you three chuckleheads to further his own agenda.” 

McGarrett inhaled in alarm, and pleaded silently with her. 

“Did it not occur to you three geniuses that Admiral Cleaver might not be the sparkling demigod of propriety you think he is?” Karlsen mocked. 

Steve shifted in place, holding his tongue, but only barely. He did not want the captain to talk about whatever was the matter between himself and Admiral Cleaver. Would she cross that line? 

“Gentlemen? Do you have any idea what you’ve stepped into the middle of?” the captain continued without missing a beat. “You obviously know that the admiral and the commander have a history. What did the admiral tell you?” 

“We know that the Commander was balling the Admiral’s wife back in Annapolis, and that’s part of the reason he was asked to leave Naval Intelligence,” Green snorted, making faces at Steve before the captain got between them, interfering with the line of sight. 

“She wasn’t the only one he was balling either,” Mendez interjected. 

“The admiral told you that, did he?” Karlsen murmured, pure fury and evil amusement making her eyebrows arch. “I don’t care if Commander McGarrett balled the wife of every senior officer in Naval Intelligence. Fuck, boys. I don’t care if McGarrett was balling the entire Ninth Fleet! What does that have to do with you three?”

“He had it coming,” Green muttered venomously. 

“If every man were treated as he deserves, Green, who among us would escape punishment?” Karlsen asked. *** 

No one had a decent answer. They hung their heads in silence. 

“Gentlemen, you made asses of yourselves in public, in civilian territory. Maybe it didn’t occur to you geniuses at the time, but the Commander would be well within his rights to have you hauled up on assault charges and thrown in jail.”

The three younger soldiers glanced resentfully at McGarrett, who leveled a burning stare back at them. 

“Luckily for you, the Commander has chosen not to exercise that option. Probably because he’s got more important fish to fry. However, I have notified your individual CO’s about tonight. You are to report at oh-six-hundred, and they will decide your punishment. Stay away from the Commander. On base. Off base. Do I make myself clear?” 

“Yes, Captain,” the three young men chorused begrudgingly. 

“You three better keep your asses clean. I won’t protect you from the Commander if you step out of line again.”

McGarrett offered up a dangerous smile, lowering his brow. The others were quaking – the ensigns out of fear and the captain out of suppressed amusement. 

“Get out of my sight, now!” the captain warned. 

The three younger men limped and lumbered away. The receptionist was snorting and chuckling after the door closed. 

“At ease, Commander. You’re making my back hurt. Do you have a few minutes?” Karlsen asked. 

“Yes, Captain. Sorry for calling you ‘Tank’ back there. It slipped out.”

“That’s all right, soldier,” she soothed in a motherly tone. “Those boys fuck with you again, Steve, you let me know.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Not that you can’t handle them on your own.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve almost smiled. 

“Things did not go well with Ensign Ruskowski this afternoon, I take it?” 

“No, not at all, ma’am.”

“Lieutenant Green has been following Ruskowski like a lovesick puppy since she stepped on base six months ago. I imagine what happened was that she came back from her meeting with you, and complained to her fellow ensigns. Green and Collins are part of the MP unit that Ruskowski is also with. I wish she would pick a side -- to hurt or to heal. Then Admiral Cleaver exacerbated the situation by sharing his dishonest and biased opinion of you, and it was all she wrote from there.” 

“Thanks for not going in details about my problems with the admiral.”

“That man nauseates me. When I think of how many times I patched up Mrs. Cleaver’s injuries? Set her broken bones? Sent her to plastic surgeons to fix her busted face? Gave her pamphlet after pamphlet about domestic abuse? And what does the Navy do? They promote her husband, time and time again. Keep him moving around so he becomes someone else’s problem. Admiral Cleaver. I want to punch him in the balls every time I see him. The admiral does not deserve your discretionary silence, Steven.” 

“It’s not discretion. It’s a court order. The military cases against him are sealed as a matter of national security.” 

“My ass.” 

“And there’s a gag order on the civilian one. On both sides. His own lawyer can’t even speak on the topic.” 

“He’s a wife-beating coward, and he whipped those boys up to get them to attack you.”

“I’m sorry you couldn’t tell them the truth.” 

“Cleaver shouldn’t be spreading rumors about you.”

“By the way, it’s the Fifth Fleet, ma’am. Not the Ninth,” Steve smiled faintly. 

“I know, you little shit. My inner Trekkie was showing through there. What’s depressing is you’re the only one who caught that slip.”

“They’re young. They’re stupid. They’re malleable.”

“Just what the Navy likes in her men.”

“The admiral took advantage of them.”

“Indeed he did. I know your mettle, McGarrett. I’ve seen your limits tested. I know good and well what you’ve done for this country. The things you’ve sacrificed. I don’t like when people think highly of a bad man. I like it even less when they think poorly of a good man.” 

Steve blushed and tucked his head down. The captain paused on one foot as she faced the doorway. Her gray eyes narrowed at Danny, who was drinking in the entire conversation unabashedly now. 

“Detective Williams?” Karlsen murmured. 

“Ma’am?” 

“Has the Commander ever told you about the time he fell backwards out of a helicopter, and spent eight months flat on his back in my hospital ward?” 

“No, ma’am. He has not,” Danny blinked at Steve in surprise. 

“It wasn’t the first time he was in my care, but that time, that time, I wasn’t so sure you’d pull through.” 

“I did, with your help,” McGarrett blushed, laughing softly. 

She agreed with a nod. “I’d still like to know how you managed to charm three-quarters of my nurses into your bed with both arms and legs in casts, and your jaw wired shut.”

Steve smiled slyly. 

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. You learned to flash those baby eyes, and bend them to your every whim. Detective, it took me and my staff months of physical therapy to get Steve mobile again, let alone walking, running, swimming?”

“Apparently getting him upright wasn’t an issue,” Danny laughed. 

Steve flamed bright red, and Danny’s eyes twinkled with mischief. Even the captain was amused. The receptionist was losing her shit in the outer room. Her laughter rang out loudly, followed by an embarrassed inhalation. 

“Sorry, Cap,” she called.

“At ease, Lieu,” Tank replied. "Think I’m going to stand by and watch a bunch of idiots take him down like that?”

“Thanks again, Captain,” Steve bowed his head shyly. 

“You’re welcome, soldier. Now get on out of here,” she scolded tenderly. She opened the top drawer and glanced at her phone. 

“How’s Vince?” 

“Panicky, at the moment,” Karlsen replied. “He’s home alone with the grandkids, and plainly terrified. He’s texted me every ten minutes for the last hour.” 

Steve smiled sadly as he rasped, “Congratulations.” 

“No, Steven, not so much. It is not a happy occasion when your nineteen-year-old, future space engineer daughter tells you she’s taking a year off college to have a baby, because she and her boyfriend were too ‘in love’ to use a condom. It is even less of a happy occasion when she has the audacity to produce twins.” 

“Congratulations twice,” Steve replied. Karlsen tucked her phone away again, her eyes travelling gently over McGarrett. 

“Be well, soldier.” 

“Yes, ma’am. Will do.” 

“Wait. Before you go? Either one of you have the phone number for that Aloha Girls troop leader? I’d like to have a few words with her about setting up a self-defense class,” Captain Karlsen smiled mischievously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *** This is a paraphrase of a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny and Steve had taken their own vehicles to the Pearl-Hickam, which necessitated taking different vehicles back as well. It felt so strange to Danny, not having Steve close in the car with him, where they could chat, or not, where they could enjoy one another’s presence, or not. There were questions buzzing around in Danny’s brain, things he wanted to ask, things he wanted answers for, but with no outlet, without Steve in the car to talk to, these questions piled up inside his head, making him buzz with excess energy. He tried calling Steve once or twice along the road, but McGarrett didn’t pick up. Maybe that was McGarrett’s way of saying he did not want to talk. 

When they got to the junction where Danny would have peeled off one way and Steve the other, Williams paused at the stop sign. Steve stopped behind him, looked left and right, and then straight ahead. He was puzzled why Danny wasn’t turning. Danny picked up his phone and waved it, then dialed Steve’s number. Steve frowned at him, but he picked up this time. 

“You all right? It’s been a long day,” Danny murmured.

“I’m fine. See you tomorrow,” Steve answered succinctly. His tone was abrupt, not unfriendly, but frank. He was in no mood for company. 

Danny debated with himself even so. Was this one of those times when he should leave well enough alone? Go home. Give Steve some space to mull and moan on his own for a few hours? Or was Steve using reverse psychology, hoping if he told Danny to go away that Danny would chase after him even faster? Or maybe, maybe this was a test of Danny’s affections? If he cared about Steve, he would ignore the command to go home and leave him alone, and he would come charging into the house right behind him, take him by the shoulders, and make him talk about what was bothering him. It could have been any of the three. 

“Danno? People waiting,” Steve said gently. 

“Let ‘em wait. I’m asking. You all right?” 

“I’m fine,” Steve repeated. 

“You don’t sound fine.” 

“Will you go before the guy behind me has a freaking conniption fit?” 

“I’m going already. See you tomorrow,” Danny lied, turning the corner, heading towards his house. He watched Steve turn right behind, and head in the opposite direction. He kept glancing in the rearview for as long as he could pick out Steve’s taillights in the distance. 

Danny was only home long enough to toss an outfit for tomorrow into an overnight bag, grab a six pack and a big bowl of leftover spaghetti from the fridge, and he was back out the door. It had taken him all of thirty minutes, including a minute or two to pee. There was no doubt in his mind this time – the melancholy which had choked Steve’s voice in his throat was definitely a cry for attention. 

The McGarrett residence was dark when Williams eased the Camaro into the driveway next to the big Silverado. The house across the street was alive with music and noise and partying. There was a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner draped at the front door. Little kids were chasing each other around in the twilight, laughing and giggling as they darted between the parked cars. The neighbor waved at Danny from her front porch, calling the kids inside, scolding them about being in the street. Danny waved back, feeling naked while she watched him carrying his bag, the beers, and the big bowl of spaghetti. It wasn’t a Walk of Shame. It was more like a Conspicuous Slink of Not-Quite-Official Cohabitation. By the time Danny made it to the front door, the neighbor and her daughter, and two of the grandkids were standing there watching him, smiling, waving. 

Steve didn’t answer the knock at the front door. He didn’t answer the knock at the back door either. There was one light on upstairs. Several windows were open. Danny thought he heard Steve’s voice in conversation with someone. Maybe he was on the phone with Mary? Williams sighed impatiently, set down his things on the back porch, and hunted up his spare key. 

Once inside, he put the spaghetti in the microwave, and turned it on. He put the six-pack in the fridge, extracted two, and popped off the tops. He thought it was odd that there was a cork impaled on a corkscrew, lying on the middle of the countertop, but he put it out of his mind. Danny nudged his overnight bag to the bottom of the stairs, and crept quietly up to the landing. 

“Steve? Are you there, babe?” 

Steve moaned and chuckled in the distance. He was talking to someone. 

“See, Meatball, I told you he wasn’t going to listen to me.”

Danny treaded along the hallway. Steve was not in his bedroom, but there was a pair of pajamas on the bed. Actual pajamas. Danny couldn’t remember if he had ever even seen Steve wear sleeping clothes to bed. But there they were, big as life. Ugly as all fuck too. They were blue, and worn soft with age, and frayed around the cuffs. Pajamas though. Real pajamas. This was more serious than Danny thought. 

“Where are you?” Danny called out. 

“Bathroom.” 

“Oh, damn, sorry?” Danny winced, tiptoeing to the doorway. He stared first towards the commode, because usually when someone said they were in the bathroom, they were speaking euphemistically. He shook himself because he couldn’t believe his eyes. A large, short-haired tom cat was coiled up on the closed lid of the toilet. He was mottled brown and black and caramel colors, and missing the tip of one ear. He didn’t look happy. He was whacking the vessel with his long tail. Furious golden eyes were boring a hole through Danny’s face. 

McGarrett chortled softly from the interior space of the room. Danny pushed the door in, and found Steve sitting sideways in the tub, both legs dangling over the front. He could almost touch the floor with his toes. Steve had a glass of red wine in his grip. An empty bottle was on the bath mat. Thirty minutes, and most of a bottle of wine later, and Steve was not exactly drunk, but he was feeling less stressed. 

“Hey. How you doing?”

“Danno, Meatball. Meatball, Danno.” 

“Where…” 

“He’s visiting from across the street. Doesn’t like the grandkids. They chase him, pick him up, kiss him, tell him what a pretty boy he is. He hates that. So he comes to my house to hide whenever they visit. We have an understanding. I will never pick him up. I will never smooch at him. And I will never, under any circumstances, tell him what a pretty boy he is.”

“Ah. I’m sure Meatball appreciates that,” Danny nodded. He set the beers on the vanity, and tentatively put a hand forward. “Nice kitty.” 

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Steve warned. Meatball narrowed his eyes at Danny, and gave a low, throaty growl. His tail swished faster. Williams wisely retracted his hand. 

“So, babe?” Danny ventured, giving Meatball a wide berth. 

“Yes, Danno?” 

“What are you doing, drinking in the tub?”

“To be honest, it was a toss-up between drowning myself in the ocean, or opening my veins under a hot shower. Then I thought, have some wine. You’ll feel better. Cath left that expensive bottle of red in the back of the fridge the last time she was here. A year ago. It’s not like she’s fucking coming back anytime soon. Drink the whole thing. Like it fucking matters. However, it’s difficult at best to get a good drunk on when you’re underwater. Not impossible, mind you. Just difficult. And then I thought, well, it’s going to take me a while to drink the entire bottle, and that would of course run over the three-minute limit on the showers. In order to save water, I opted for a hot bath. Best of both worlds. I’m naked. I’m wet. I’m kinda drunk. I’m already sitting down, so I’m not going to break anything falling down. Opening my veins is becoming less and less likely, because I can’t remember if I’ve got a straight razor in the house, and all the good kitchen knives are downstairs. I’m too lazy to go get them. Oh! Except the one that’s stashed under the cabinet there. But hey, that does beg the question. What wine goes best with suicidal depression? Red? White? Rosé?”

Danny deftly and calmly took away Steve’s glass of wine. Picked up the bottle and put it in the sink. He set the glass on the vanity with the two beers. He bent down and placed a gentle kiss on McGarrett’s bruised nose. 

“That’s nice and all, Danno, but it’s not an answer,” Steve murmured. 

Danny turned and dug around in the cabinet, and removed the foot-long, razor-sharp scimitar which was propped between the rolls of extra toilet paper and several bottles of bubble bath. Danny twiddled the point of the blade on one finger, and gave Steve a peevish stare. McGarrett smiled innocently in reply. 

“Can I have my wine back?” he asked, flashing those beautiful eyes. 

“No,” Danny retorted sharply. 

The microwave dinged downstairs. Meatball took off like a shot, vanishing into the house. 

“Where you going?” Steve wondered when Danny turned on one heel.

“To hide this from you. Sit. Stay. Good Steve.” 

When Danny returned, he dropped his bag in the bedroom. He lugged the large bowl of leftover spaghetti into the bathroom, and handed Steve a fork. McGarrett’s eyes lit up with interest. Danny handed him the bowl. 

“It’s hot. Be careful,” Williams warned. 

“Mrs. Williams’ special sauce?” McGarrett asked hopefully. 

“Yes. It’s Mama’s special sauce. I found a container in the back of the freezer. Scoot over.”

“Why?” Steve asked with a mouthful of spaghetti. Danny held his own fork in his mouth, and began to peel out of his clothes. “Ooooooh,” Steve hummed appreciatively. “Dinner _and_ entertainment. You do know how to show a boy a good time, Mr. Williams.” 

Danny nearly throttled himself getting out of his teeshirt with the fork between his lips. 

“Take it all off, gorgeous,” Steve cheered playfully. 

Danny kicked his clothes into a pile in the corner, and knelt down to the cabinet. 

“What are you looking for?” Steve wondered. Danny selected a bottle at random, turned on the hot water, and emptied several capfuls of opalescent goo into the tub. Steve didn’t argue. Bubbles swallowed the Navy SEAL and his midsection. He pulled his legs under the hot water. As the bubbles invaded everywhere, Steve frowned his annoyance. 

“What is that smell?” McGarrett whined in between bites. 

“You,” Danny teased. 

“The other smell,” Steve clarified. 

“That is warm vanilla and brown sugar. Scoot up.” 

Steve pulled himself sideways, and watched as Danny slid into the tub. Danny hummed in pleasure as the warmth from the water soaked into his body too. He curled against Steve’s side, and dug his fork into the bowl of spaghetti. 

“There are very few things in the world which cannot be cured with a hot bath,” Danny murmured, nosing a kiss to Steve’s cheek, leaving a sauce-encrusted imprint on his skin. 

McGarrett hummed in agreement, stretching out his sore limbs in order to reach the faucet before the water and the bubbles tumbled over the edge onto the bath mat on the floor. 

“Sylvia Plath said that. Or something like that. I’m a bit fuzzy on the exact quote,” Williams continued. 

“She killed herself, you know,” Steve reminded him impishly. 

“Yeah. Maybe the wrong quote to go with, all things considered,” Danny replied with a sigh. He put one arm around Steve, and took another bite of spaghetti. 

“You know what would be great with this?”

“What?” 

“A glass of red wine,” Steve whispered, a smile playing on his red-tinged lips. At least some of the humor was returning to his face. 

“If I get up and get that glass for you, you’re going to talk to me. Do we have a deal?” 

“I’m talking already. What else you want from me?” 

“When I say talk, I mean talk. Really talk,” Danny mumbled with a mouth full of pasta. “Hold this,” he added, sticking his fork in the bowl. 

Williams climbed out of the tub, trailing vanilla-scented bubbles and buckets of water. Steve’s eyes followed him hungrily. 

“Daniel Albert Williams, you really do have the best ass. And I’m not just saying that because you brought me dinner, and did a strip tease.” 

“Thanks.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

“I thank you. My ass thanks you. Here’s your goddamn wine.” 

“Love you," Steve offered in a little boy voice. 

“Love you too.” 

Danny reached back and retrieved both beers, because he sure as hell wasn’t getting out of the tub again. 

“So talk to me,” he muttered, climbing back in the water, nestling against his partner, picking up his fork. Steve shoveled in another mouthful and shrugged one shoulder. 

“What do you want to talk about?” 

“We gonna play games? What do you think I want to talk about?” 

“Do we have to talk? We could just finish the pasta, enjoy the wine, and fuck like bunnies on the bath mat,” Steve offered. 

“Oh, oh, I see. You’re gonna barter with me then? Offer up sex as an option instead of talking, and think I won’t see through that, hm?” 

“Is it working?” 

“No, it’s not working, Steve.”

“I’ll talk. What do you want to know?” 

“Well, okay then. Where to begin? Steven J. McGarrett, were you balling Admiral Cleaver’s wife when you were in Annapolis in Naval Intelligence?” 

“That’s it? You get an open ended opportunity to ask me any question you want, and all you wanna know is if I was balling some asshat’s wife years ago?” Steve snorted. 

“Answer the question,” Danny pouted. 

“Or what? You gonna torture me. Electric shock treatments. Water boarding. Bamboo manicure. Hmm? You’re going to have to get pretty creative, because I’ve been tortured several times, and I’m frankly very hard to impress these days,” Steve chuckled morbidly. 

“I am gonna assume you weren’t balling the entire fleet, but I would like to know, yes or no, about Mrs. Cleaver. Because it’s relevant to how we’re going to handle Admiral Cleaver and his minions, if they try to come after you again.” 

“That’s it? You want to hear every sordid detail?” 

“Yes, I do.” 

“Then we can fuck like bunnies on the bath mat?” 

“We’ll see.”

“I met Mrs. Cleaver at a cocktail party attended by officers and wives, thrown at the house of some important political dignitary in the state capital. He was ex-Navy, and his wife had a thing for pretty middies. Mrs. Cleaver and I were hiding upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Her, from her husband. Me, from my CO.”

“Why were you hiding from your CO?” 

“You wanna know how I spent my time in Naval Intelligence? Being chased around my desk by my over-sexed, jungle cat of a CO. When I told Ensign Ruskowski that I had some idea about what women went through, yeah, I wasn’t making that shit up. Lieutenant Commander Maxine Forbes. She was a real piece of work. She saw me at one of the Naval Academy functions the year before I graduated, and she requisitioned me to be her assistant, like I was a piece of fucking furniture.” 

Steve paused for a bite of pasta, anger making his brows dip. 

“Go on,” Danny gulped. 

“I was hiding from Maxine, because she kept sneaking up behind me and clutching my ass. Mrs. Cleaver was hiding from her husband, because they had fought in the car on the way over. He was getting hammered, and gearing up for Round Two on the way home. There we were, crouched down beside the bed, terrified of every pair of feet that went past the door. We sat there for a couple hours at least.”

“Oh.” 

“We didn’t speak much. We sat shoulder to shoulder. I held her hand, because she was shaking.”

“Oh.” 

“At about nine, Joan got up, patted me on the head, and said her goodbyes. Told me to be a good boy. To get out while I still could. I wished her luck. She left the bedroom. I heard them both exit out the front door below a few seconds later. Dave. Wonderful Dave. He was dragging her by her hair, calling her a whore, accusing her of sleeping around, because he could smell my cologne on her. I ran to the window, because I heard her cry out, “Dave! Don’t!” Cleaver dragged his wife by her shoulders across the porch, shook her like a rag doll, and then he threw her backwards down the steps onto the pavement.”

“What did you do?” 

“I kinda freaked out. I must have raced downstairs, and rushed out the front door. I don’t remember a single step of that journey. It was a blur. When I came back to reality, I was in the front yard, on Dave’s chest, holding him by his throat, choking the shit out of him. I may have broken his nose. Knocked out his front teeth. It took four guys to pull me off of him. Three of them sat on me, and the other guy helped Dave find his teeth and then dragged him to safety on the other side of the lawn. The host called an ambulance for Mrs. Cleaver. The hostess stood guard by Joan’s side, holding her hand in one hand, and holding a loaded .57 Magnum in the other. She told Dave if he touched Joan again, she was going to blast his balls off. You know who got into the ambulance first when it arrived?”

“Dave? Wonderful Dave?” Danny ventured a guess. Steve nodded, his face screwing up with distaste. 

“Thankfully, there were other witnesses who had seen Cleaver push his wife backwards down the steps, because as it was, nobody was going to take my word for what had happened. The accusations of some terrified ensign over a decorated captain? Not happening.”

“Why did she go back to him? Why didn’t she walk away?”

“Who the hell knows? I mean, who are we to judge unless we’ve been in that situation? Financial insecurity. Emotional insecurity. Self-loathing. Fear of being alone. Fear of being blamed for the failure of her marriage. Years and years of abuse like that will strip away any ounce of self-esteem you ever had. It leaves you feeling like you deserve the way you’re being treated. I don’t know why Mrs. Cleaver didn’t leave her husband. All I know is that I spent eight hours on the witness stand at a trial that was nothing but a sham. The Navy didn’t do a damned thing to Cleaver for what he did to his wife. They hushed it all up, said he was stressed because of his job, and they were going to transfer him to a less-stressful post in Portland, and that was going to fix it all. Because there had been other witnesses to what had happened, I got the benefit of the doubt, and I wasn’t court-martialed for busting open his face. I decided I didn’t want to spend any more time in Naval Intelligence after that. The whole thing made me sick, the way they covered for that son of a bitch. It took me two years, two very long years, to detach Lieutenant Commander Forbes’ fangs from my hide. I wasn’t asked to leave Naval Intelligence. I clawed my way out of that stinking, festering hole, and I ran for my life.” 

“How did you wind up in the SEALs?” 

“Joe had been working to get me there even before I graduated, without much luck, because Maxine outranked Joe, and they weren’t exactly friends, and she was fighting him every step of the way. It just so happens that the four guys who pulled me off Cleaver’s chest were SEALs. They were kind of impressed with what I had done. Put in a good word for me. I was open to anything. I wanted out of Naval Intelligence, but I needed to go somewhere Forbes couldn’t get her fangs into me again. I mean, this lady, I’m telling you. She spent five years stalking me, on and off duty. Systematically isolated me. Transferred anyone I showed a romantic interest in. I used to have nightmares that she was going to shoot me, and mount me on a wall in her house.” 

“Whatever happened to her?” Danny wondered with a tiny giggle. He couldn’t help the fact that this lady plainly scared the shit out of a big Navy SEAL, even after all this time. 

“She retired from the Navy, and moved back home to Alabama. Died of a massive stroke a year later. She was terrifying, Danno. Terrifying.” 

“I believe you, babe,” Danny murmured. “Here. Done with that?” 

Danny took away the forks and the bowl, setting them down to the side of the tub. He finished his beer, and took away Steve’s empty wine glass. 

“Thank you,” Steve whispered. Danny dotted kisses along his partner’s nearest shoulder. 

“For what?” Danny asked, picking up the sponge. He soaped it up, and started at the top of Steve’s big shoulders, dotting more kisses and gently scrubbing in slow circles. 

“Everything. You don’t have to do that,” McGarrett rumbled. Danny was surprised how docile it made Steve though, having someone rub his back. He brought his knees up to his chest, and rested his head on his knees. Danny felt his heart breaking just a little. 

“Shh. Let me be nice to you.” 

Danny took his time, rubbing and caressing, washing too. He eventually shifted from Steve’s back to his front, crawling over one big thigh so the two men could face each other. Suds were trailing over his muscular, compact body. Steve reached up one hand, long fingers touching Danny’s mouth. 

“Sorry about this evening,” Steve said, tilting his head to one side. 

“Why are you sorry? Like you asked those mugs to jump you? I had hoped after the workout, we might spend the evening tangled up in hot, wet sex. Kitchen floor optional.” 

“We’re hot and wet, anyway,” McGarrett snorted sleepily. 

“I didn’t even get to ask you what happened with Tank,” Danny remarked. This elicited a bashful chuckle and a head tuck from Steve. “Oh, babe,” Danny whispered, nosing a tender kiss to Steve’s chin and the curving scar which was mostly hidden in beard stubble. “Knowing how much time you spent in her care over the years, your whole hospital fetish is starting to make more sense,” Danny snorted.

“Remind me to thank her for talking to Madeline.” 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Danny said, reaching for the shampoo. He scrubbed a couple tablespoons of blue goo into Steve’s short hair, scooping up handfuls of water to make the lather grow. McGarrett’s eyes closed as suds trailed down his face. 

“I wonder where Meatball went,” he whispered distantly. 

“Don’t fall asleep yet, babe.”

“No?” Steve replied, rolling his neck and relaxing as fingertips massaged his scalp and temples and behind his ears. 

“Lie back. Rinse your hair,” Danny whispered, reaching for the bubble bath again. He poured some into his palm, onto his fingers, and moved forward. 

Steve surfaced from rinsing his hair to find Danny looming over him. McGarrett smiled faintly, opening his mouth to a kiss. Danny used his shoulders to nudge and nestle between Steve’s long legs, to raise a knee. He kissed Steve back against the tub, sliding a slippery hand between his legs. McGarrett moaned low and deep as Danny slid one finger inside him, working him open. 

“So gorgeous,” Danny rasped, licking water droplets off Steve’s cheek, latching onto his closest earlobe and sucking. His hands worked slowly. Steve’s fingers climbed Danny’s back, then looped together on his shoulders, behind his head. Danny watched pink and red tones color Steve’s cheeks and the top of his chest. Steve’s hips were rocking in time with every tease and tickle of Danny’s magic fingers. Anxious whines echoed in the small room. 

“That’s what I like to hear,” Danny purred, replacing his fingers with his cock with one easy slide. He nestled deep inside Steve, delighting in the pleasure that washed over his lover’s face as he filled him. 

“Bed?” Steve stammered. 

“Oh, no. Right here,” Danny groaned, rocking his hips. Steve gave a low groan, eyes glazing. “Lie back, babe. Let me take care of you.” 

Bracing himself on the warmed porcelain edge, Danny arched and rocked, kissing the fingers that caressed his mouth and jaw, then clawed across his chest, tangling in body hair. Steve cried out with each thrust, head back, all pretense of control lost. Probably thanks to that wine. Water and bubbles sloshed over onto the bath mat. Nobody cared. Steve’s hands found Danny’s hips. Fingers clutched tight. Long legs locked behind him, tightening. Steve slid downward, brows twisting and furrowing, eyes clenched, mouth forming a perfect O. 

One of their cell phones rang in the other room. Steve’s eyes opened in confusion and concern. He put one hand on the side of the tub, one hand on Danny’s chest as if to pull away from him. 

“Where are you going?” Danny muttered, getting a tighter grip with one arm, leaving the other hand free. “No, no, no, no.” 

“Phone?” Steve panted. 

“No….” Danny chided. “Stay. Good boy,” he teased as he nipped and kissed between Steve’s shoulder and left earlobe. Danny circled his other hand around his lover’s erection, and stroked in time with each thrust.

Both phones were ringing now. Danny growled, and wished he had a third arm, so he could reach over and close the bathroom door. Shut out the world for a few more minutes. He stroked Steve more roughly, and Steve’s sobs of pleasure drowned out the sound of the phones. Steve muffled his face against Danny’s neck and shoulder, silencing himself out of embarrassment. Thighs aching, knees both complaining, Danny marshalled on. Steve finally tumbled over the edge, head back, calling Danny’s name over and over. 

Even as he shuddered with pleasure and nursed Steve through his release, Danny could hear softly-padded feet on the bath mat. He sucked marks on Steve’s neck, and filled him with white, hot heat. They lay together in the tub, a tangle of limbs, needing another bath to make up for the sticky, sweaty mess they were again. Danny lifted his head for a moment, and came face to face with Meatball on the other side of the tub. The cat’s ears were back, and he was frowning. Danny returned the expression, panting for breath. 

"Pervert," Danny accused. 

Steve was chortling softly, his head tucked on Danny’s shoulder. McGarrett’s arms were up around Danny’s neck, holding him close, unwilling to let go. There was something in his body language that worried Danny. Something in the way Steve kept his face tucked against Danny even as they sat up. Danny retrieved the sponge, and gently washed their sticky chests. He lifted Steve’s head, and washed his chin, laughing tenderly. 

“I’ll catch up in a minute,” Danny soothed. 

Steve climbed out of the tub in awkward, coltish movements. His legs wobbled. Danny steadied him with one hand on his thigh, watched him put both feet on the floor. Steve grabbed a towel and headed for the bedroom. He dried his face, and sat on the bed. Meatball continued to stare at Danny as Williams emptied the tub and turned on the shower, making quick work of washing his own hair. He could hear McGarrett’s voice in the other room. Steve must have checked to see who had called. He could see Meatball's lumpy silhouette on the other side of the curtain that he drew to keep the water off the floor. 

Danny marched into the bedroom, fighting with the urge to growl at Steve. Meatball followed behind. Danny got one look at his partner’s face, and understood it was something very serious. McGarrett was standing by the closet, pulling on cargo pants, already wearing socks to be able to put on boots. 

“That was Chin. There’s been an incident at the Cleavers’ home.”

“Does it have to be you, McGarrett? That’s what MPs are for. Don’t they live on base?” 

McGarrett gave him a sour frown. 

“What is it?” Danny asked. 

“The admiral shot his wife on the front lawn, and he’s holding Patty inside at gunpoint. I need to go.”

“You are not responsible for that man’s actions, Steven.” 

“You don’t understand. It’s not that I want to go. But he’s asking for me.” 

“What?” 

“He wants me there, so I can watch him put a bullet in his daughter. His exact words. So, no, it’s not like this is how I planned to spend the evening, but yes, I will be going. Leave a light on for me.” 

“Hold up. We'll both go. Think I'm letting you handle this alone? Let me get dressed,” Danny pleaded. 

“Okay,” McGarrett agreed, taking a shaking breath. 

Meatball rubbed against Steve’s ankles, rumbling softly. Steve picked him up, stroked his ears, and set him on the bed. 

“Keep off the pillows, big guy. No wild parties either.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

Chin knew something was up when the Camaro pulled on scene, and Danny climbed out of the driver’s seat. Steve ambled out of the passenger side, closed the door behind, and leaned his long arms up on top of the car to talk to Danny. 

“My butt is killing me. We are never doing that again,” Steve whined. 

“I’m’a take that as a compliment, babe,” Danny chuckled brightly. 

“We’ll see how you like it next time,” Steve muttered. 

The head of the MP unit on base turned around from the truck. He was both happy to see them, and annoyed as well. 

“Hey, Vince. Sorry it took so long.”

“McGarrett! Where da’ fuck have you been?” 

“You speak the Mother Tongue?” Danny gasped, hand over his heart. He blinked at the guy, and thought he might be seeing himself in twenty years. Vince was compact and muscular, with white-gray hair. He bore a big ass grin, and had a nose like a plum tomato. 

“Commander Marziano.”

“Detective Danny Williams.” 

“Newark?” 

“Close enough!”

“Call me Vince. How you doin’?”

“I can’t complain,” Danny replied, shaking his hand vigorously.

“Yes, he can,” Steve and Chin replied in unison. Steve followed the words with a slightly unsteady laugh, the sound of which raised Chin’s brows. 

“What brings you to Paradise?” Danny asked Vince. 

“Long story short, I crossed a mine field, met an angel, fell in love, had some kids, she got a transfer, here we are. Yous?” 

“Kinda the same thing, only not in that order,” Danny replied, gesticulating as always as he spoke. 

“Stevie, you ready to do this?” 

“You should know, sir, that I had a couple glasses of wine with dinner. Some before dinner too. It’s fair to say I’m punchy.”

“Not to mention getting your bell rung by a couple of my boys at the gym this evening?”

“Oh, you know about that?” Steve winced. 

“Yeah, Tank may have mentioned that.”

“Word travels fast,” Steve lamented. 

“You know Tank?” Danny asked as Steve sighed. 

“You could say that,” Vince laughed. 

“He’s Mr. Tank,” Steve explained. 

“I’m going to put those boys through the wringer in the morning. They won’t know what hit them,” Marziano promised McGarrett. “Thanks for being frank with me, kid. Under normal circumstances, I’d tuck you in a truck and put you on a phone with the guy. But he wants to talk to you in person, and I got no choice in the matter.”

“How is Mrs. Cleaver?” Steve worried, as he slid into the tac vest that was handed to him by another MP officer. McGarrett’s eyes lighted inside the vehicle, where there were rows and stacks of weapons of every assortment – handguns, assault rifles, bullet clips, hand grenades, smoke bombs, flash bombs, and the like. He got a silly, happy smile on his face for a second before Commander Marziano replied. He climbed up inside, smile widening. 

“She’s been transported to Tripler. She was unresponsive when we got here, but the EMTs managed to raise a heartbeat. He shot her through the chest, missed her heart, but hit her lung and her liver. I don’t know if she’s going to make it.” 

“Do you know what condition Patty is in?” Steve’s happy face went serious once more. 

“Current condition unknown. That animal was dragging her around by her hair when we arrived. If it were up to me, if that little girl weren’t in there, I’d scramble a couple fighters, and drop a bomb on da bastard. Unfortunately, it ain’t up to me,” Vince muttered. 

“You’re the officer in charge. Why is this not up to you?” Steve wondered. 

“Unfortunately, right now it’s up to Cleaver. He’s got a gun to Patty’s head, and he’s baying for blood. More specifically, yours. And I mean to give you to him.” 

“I believe I know where this is going,” Steve nodded, running his hands over the many weapons available. 

“You gotta keep him talking, get him to monologue, get him to concentrate on you so I can get some shooters in position. I’m taking this bastard out, dead or alive,” Vince promised. 

“Can I….mmmm?” Steve asked, caressing a nearby assault rifle. 

“This is like a big ice cream truck to you, isn’t it?” Danny commented, patting the metal floor of the truck, and eyeing Steve’s ankles like he wanted to grab them and hold tight. “Buddy, you can’t do this.” 

“Sorry to disagree, but Steve has got to do this. Cleaver wants to talk to him. Inside the house. Alone. Unarmed,” Vince explained. 

“You’re in no condition to handle this alone,” Danny interjected. 

“He said he wants you to walk in the front door in your BVD’s with your hands up, or he’s going to kill Patty,” Vince continued. 

Steve listened carefully, brows dipping. The angry jaguar was returning, except Steve’s inhibitions were dampened due to the alcohol he had consumed. Danny could only see Very Bad Things coming out of this. 

“I should punch his front teeth out again for this,” McGarrett grumbled. 

Danny was pale and worried. Chin was glancing back and forth between the two of them. He understood Danny’s concerns, but he also knew how imperative Steve was to the MP unit leader’s plans. Chin tentatively slid a tablet up into Steve’s grip. 

“Here’s the layout of the house. Two story. Four bedroom. Three bath. 1800 square feet. It’s not big, which puts us at a disadvantage. It’s going to be difficult to put other people inside the house without Cleaver knowing it. If you can keep him busy, we can get a person or two upstairs in a position to disable him and extract Patty,” Chin explained. 

“I mean to dangle you in front of him like a bright shiny object. Hope you don’t mind,” Vince murmured.

“Not at all,” Steve replied, pacing back and forth in the truck, his boots clanking on the metal flooring. 

“I mind!” Danny interjected. 

“Detective Williams? Benevolent dictatorship,” Steve whispered, pulling the tablet in for a closer study. He examined the virtual tour of the rooms, gathering pertinent information. Wheels were turning in his head. He returned the tablet to Chin with a quiet ‘thanks’, and turned to visually examine the house before him. It was a nice house in a nice neighborhood. There were similar homes on all sides. Fortunately, the occupants had already been evacuated in case of crossfire. Unfortunately, that meant there were literally scores of witnesses hanging around the scene on the other side of the barriers which had been erected to keep cars and people out. 

“Steve, you shouldn’t be doing this in your condition,” Danny protested. Steve crouched down into Danny’s personal space. “I understand how much you want to walk in there and save Patty’s life, like some big damned hero, but this is irresponsible. You are impaired. Not to mention tired. It’s after ten p.m. You were yawning on the way over. Don’t think I didn’t see that.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You can’t do this.” 

“Just so you know, this isn’t the first time I’ve been expected to perform my job under duress,” Steve quipped. 

“I’m going with you,” Williams growled. 

“No. You’re my backup.”

“I am not letting you walk in there alone, without a gun, in nothing but your shorts? Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“That’s not going to be an issue, Danno,” Steve whispered in reply. 

“Because I happen to know the state of your shorts,” Danny exclaimed in a heated whisper, taking Steve by the front of his shirt and pulling their foreheads together. “Please don’t do this,” Danny begged. 

McGarrett gave a squirrely giggle before he cleared his throat and stood up straight again. He held onto Danny's hand for a moment before letting go. 

“You and Chin coordinate with Vince, get people in position upstairs. You’ll have a full visual of most of the living room and dining room, thanks to the open floor plan. I’ll do my best to draw him into position and keep his ass there.” 

“You are not listening to me.” 

“I’m listening, Danno. I don’t agree with you. That’s all.”

“Stubborn jackass!” Danny raised his voice. Steve grinned back at him over one shoulder. 

“So cute when you’re worried. This is going to take fifteen minutes. Then we can go home. Get some sleep. Yes?”

Danny flamed up angrily. “You arrogant bastard. Fifteen minutes!? You wanna put your money where your mouth is on that?” 

“How ‘bout we wager for tops instead?” Steve grinned evilly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Chin and Vince were both in earshot. The other two men exchanged a quick glance.

"They like this all the time?" Vince whispered. 

"Sometimes worse," Chin nodded. 

“Damn it all, Steve,” Danny muttered, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. Steve licked his lips and leaned down into Danny’s personal space once more. 

“Fifteen minutes on the clock. Set your stopwatch, Danno,” Steve promised. He pulled the tac vest off, and put it back in place on the shelf in the tactical truck. As he jumped down, he wobbled unsteadily. Steve put out a hand, and Danny steadied him. 

“Steve, what do you need from me?” Chin asked.

“You got any gum?” McGarrett smiled hopefully. “Where’s Kono?” 

“En route,” Kelly replied. He fumbled in a pocket, and produced a couple sticks of peppermint gum.

The porch creaked as Steve climbed the stoop, hands in the air, jaw working the gum in his mouth. The front door was slightly ajar. It slid open an inch or so further with his approach. There were no lamps on in the house, but the interior of the front room was lit by the sharp flood lights which the tactical unit had set up facing the residence. The barrel of a gun was visible in the crack between the door and the frame, along with a pair of green eyes. Steve chewed quietly, brow furrowing. 

“Is that a Glock 19, or are you just happy to see me?” McGarrett began. 

“You’re supposed to be in your underwear. I was very specific,” Cleaver hissed hatefully. 

Steve’s annoyance increased, stretching his sarcastic smile thinner and thinner. 

“You don’t want to go there, Dave.”

“Take off your clothes, now, or I put a bullet in her head,” the voice from inside growled, waving the gun around, aiming up and down. 

“Patty? Are you there?” Steve asked, aiming his voice towards the middle rather than the top of the dark space. 

“I’m here,” Patty replied, her voice quivering. She was more than a little frightened, but who wouldn’t be, given the circumstances? Steve was picturing her small face. She wasn’t the most vocal member of Grace’s Aloha Girls Troop. Patty Cleaver was shy and quiet, tended to hang back from the crowd. He was kicking himself for not picking up on the clues before, when he hadn’t realized she was even related to the same David Cleaver that he had tangled with before. 

“Patty, I want you to know, I’m very sorry about this whole situation, and I’m going to get you out of there. Okay, honey?”

“Okay.” 

“Take off your clothes, now, McGarrett.”

“Patty? Close your eyes and keep them closed until I say so.” 

“Um, okay?” the youngster replied unsurely. 

Steve kicked off his boots, peeled out of his shirt, and dropped them together in a pile beside the front door. He reached for his belt buckle, and proceeded to drop his pants as well. A gasp went through the crowd behind them. Steve was standing on the porch in nothing but his socks, one arm outstretched to put the pants on top of his shirt and boots. 

“McGARRETT!? WHAT IN THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!” Cleaver wailed. 

“I dressed in a hurry. Forgot the briefs. I tend to be in a rush when someone calls me about a little child being held at gunpoint,” Steve answered, sarcasm heavy in his tone. 

“PUT YOUR GODDAMN PANTS BACK ON, SOLDIER!” Cleaver wailed, gun shaking. 

“I warned you not to go there, Dave.” Steve shrugged nonchalantly and pulled his trousers back on. He clicked his buckle closed, and pushed carefully on the door with one set of toes. It opened to the touch. The flood lights lit the two people in the front room. One tall, skinny man, and one tiny girl. 

“You can open your eyes now, Patty,” Steve offered gently. She was shaking, but she seemed to be in good shape otherwise. Steve’s heart caught in his throat when he realized she had high-velocity blood droplets on her shirt, her neck, and her face. That meant she had been standing next to Mrs. Cleaver when she had been shot. The pit of his stomach tightened at that thought. 

“Have you been drinking?” Cleaver snarled. He was a whiplash thin man in his forties, with bristly white-brown hair, a pointed nose, and long limbs. 

“I had a couple glasses of wine with dinner,” Steve nodded. 

“I ought to have you charged for dereliction of duty!” 

“You’re holding a gun to your daughter’s head, and you’re going to fucking lecture me about my alcohol consumption?!” Steve shouted back angrily. He was sorry for the flinch that went through Patty’s shaking form. Cleaver had a tight grip on her hair, and he shook her as he gesticulated while speaking. 

“Watch your goddamn language! She’s ten!”

Steve blinked at Cleaver in disbelief, clenching his mouth tightly. 

“Fucking kidding me,” Steve muttered. 

“I said watch your language!”

“Okay, Dave. You got what you wanted. I’m here. You need to let Patty go now.”

“No, McGarrett! No! You are not going to walk into my house and start giving orders! I’m in charge here! Me! I’m the one giving the orders! You will not walk into my house and tell me what to do! You will address me by my rank, and you will treat me with respect, or I will shoot her!”

“Fuck you, Dave. You’re going to let Patty go, now, or I’m going to unleash a world of hurt on your ass.” 

“That’s a bold assertion for a jerk without the gun.” 

“I don’t need a gun to kill you, Dave.”

The malevolent smile that graced McGarrett’s face made Cleaver’s hair stand up. His hand on the gun began to tremble. 

“You obviously did not think this shit through, did you?” Steve continued, snickering. 

“I said to watch your mouth in front of my daughter!” 

“You shot your wife. You’re holding your daughter at gunpoint. You’re holed up in your house. And you invite me in? A Navy SEAL with anger management issues, trained in close quarters combat, someone with a history of kicking your ass six ways from Sunday. Now, Dave, really, what were you thinking?”

“Shut the fuck up! Now!”

“I am more than happy to oblige you with an ass-whupping if that’s what you want, but was there any reason at all to shoot Joan and terrorize Patty?” 

“Shut up! Shut your mouth! Shut it right this second!” Dave howled. 

“Whatever, Dave,” Steve cackled, chewing his gum. He raised his hands higher.

“Stop calling me by my name! You will address me by my rank, soldier!” 

“Fuck you. Your rank is meaningless now. You’ve forfeited any of the respect you might have been due as my superior officer. You made sure of that when you shot your wife and left her to die on the front lawn.”

“Don’t you walk in here and talk to me like that!!” Cleaver snarled, shaking Patty as he jabbed her with the gun haphazardly. 

“Mommy….” Patty whimpered, hands covering her face as she winced, and screwed her eyes shut tightly. Steve’s face flashed from arrogant to sympathetic and back again. He hated putting her through this. It made him absolutely sick to his stomach. 

“Dave, don’t be an idiot. Even a pea brain like you has to know the only reason you’re alive is because Patty is alive. The millisecond that changes, you’re a dead man. Even if you shoot me first, and shoot her second, there are fifty odd officers and marksmen out there who would love nothing more than to put a bullet between your eyes. They’ve got kids. They’ve got family. You don’t want to do anything you won’t live to regret.”

“You shut your mouth! Now!” Cleaver snapped, taking the gun away from Patty to point it at Steve. 

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Dave, but you didn’t ask me here to keep my mouth shut. You wanted to talk. You wanted me here to hear whatever you’ve got to say. Well, I’m here. Quit wasting time. Tell me what you want, right to my face. But first, before any of the macho dick-waving bullshit begins, I want you to let Patty go.” 

“No!” Dave yelled. Patty was inching away, but he snatched her back again by her short brown hair. 

“Dave, listen to me. Your life? It’s over. It was over the minute you killed your wife. But Patty has got a chance.” 

“It’s her own fault!” Dave hissed angrily, hands trembling, gun fidgeting. 

“None of this is Patty’s fault,” Steve disagreed. 

“Joan! It’s Joan’s fault!”

“It’s not Joan’s fault either. Man up, Cleaver. This is your fault. You. Take responsibility for your actions. You made the decision to do what you’ve done. You’re a spineless weasel. You always have been.”

“Don’t talk to me like that!”

“Prove I’m wrong. Prove you’re not a spineless ass. Let Patty go.” 

“She stays!” Cleaver snarled, dodging left and right and back again when Steve shifted side to side. Behind him, there were tactical officers coming forward across the lawn in tight formation, all of them with a gun aimed at him. 

"You've always been an asshole, Dave." 

“Stand still! Stand still, goddamn it!” 

“Dave, please, come on. You don’t want to do this.”

“I’m in charge here! I’m in charge, and you’re going to listen to me! You’re going to do whatever I say!” 

“Absolutely. You are in the one in charge. I’ll do whatever you say,” Steve promised, chewing, jaw working, nodding along. “You and me, Dave. Come on. I know what you want. You wanna take a swing at me. I know you do. I’m all for that. You and me. We’ll settle this man to man. But you need to let Patty go.” 

“No! I said she stays!”

“Why, Dave?” 

“I want her to hear you.” 

“Hear me what, Dave?” Steve asked, brows working nearly as fast as his jaw. 

“I want you to tell her that you slept with my wife. I want you to admit to my daughter that you cheated with my wife. I want you to tell her what kind of man you really are! You’re not a hero! You’re not! You’re a cheating, lying bastard, and you slept with my whore of a wife.” 

“Watch your mouth, Dave. I will say whatever you want me to say, but that isn’t going to make it true.” 

“You’re lying! You’re lying through your teeth! You slept with my wife, like you slept with Maxine, and…”

“I never slept with your wife, and I certainly never slept with Commander Forbes,” Steve defended. 

“No! Tell Patty the truth!” Dave snarled, waving the gun at Steve again, moving his grip on Patty from her hair to her upper arm. "I want her to know what kind of man you are."

"What the hell is this all about, Dave?" 

"You! It's you! That's all she's talked about since that goddamn field trip! What a hero Steve McGarrett is!" 

"Oh my god. That really must have frosted your buns," Steve realized with a wicked laugh. 

"First it was all about the field trip. And then it was all about that stupid class!'

"Just so you know, Dave, when this here is all said and done, I'm going to teach Patty every single, solitary combat technique I have ever learned. Defensive and offensive. She's going to be ready for you, you son of a bitch, if you ever see the light of day again." 

Dave jabbed the gun in Steve's face. 

"Say it!" Cleaver hissed. 

“I will say whatever you want me to say,” Steve promised.

“Then say it!” Dave snarled. He moved the gun back to Patty when her tears came back, harder than before. 

“Tell me exactly what you want me to say,” Steve requested, moving a step closer. Patty's tears were leaving streaks through the blood droplets on her face. 

“Daddy, you’re hurting me,” she stammered, her small hand fluttering, attempting to push the pain away without touching her father’s hand. 

“Say it, McGarrett! Say it! ‘I slept with Joan Cleaver!’ Say it!” 

Steve reached a tender hand towards the sobbing child. “Patty, don’t cry. It’s going to be all right.” 

“Say it, goddamn you! Say it! ‘I slept with…” Dave snarled. “Stop there! Hands behind your head, McGarrett! You take another step, and she’s dead.”

Steve stopped in his tracks, hands rising, resting behind the back of his head. 

“Say it!” Dave howled and spat, and pressed the muzzle of his gun to Steve’s bare chest. There was the barest whisper of sound from above. Someone whimpering McGarrett’s name was behind the upstairs wall.

“I….” Steve murmured. 

“ ‘I….I….I….” Dave’s maw was wide open. A rifle glinted in the beams of light from the upstairs landing. 

Steve pursed his lips and exhaled loudly. Cleaver jolted, and took a step back. His eyes were wide with horror and surprise. He let go of Patty, and clutched at his own throat. The little girl darted straight out the open front door, faster than a startled deer. She didn’t stop running until she was past the tactical van, and Chin Ho Kelly reached out to pick her up. 

Steve wrestled for Cleaver’s hand which held the gun, and snatched his other hand around the wrist in an unbreakable hold. Cleaver writhed and wriggled in Steve’s grip. McGarrett head-butted Cleaver in the face, and the admiral sagged towards the ground. Steve let go of Cleaver's wrist, and hurled the weapon against the far wall with a satisfying thud as feet thundered downstairs from above. 

“You got cuffs?” Steve asked as Cleaver curled up in a ball, coughing and choking, struggling for air. 

“Can’t breathe…..can’t breathe….” he begged, turning blue. Steve hauled the man to his feet, and pounded his back hard enough to break ribs. 

“Got cuffs,” Danny replied, happily slipping them around Cleaver’s wrists and shaking him himself for good measure. "Fifteen minutes, forty-eight seconds," he purred gleefully. 

"Awwwww. Really?" Steve pouted. 

Cleaver coughed and hacked, and finally expelled the wad of gum Steve had spit directly into his gaping maw. Danny stared at the ground in disbelief, and then back up at Steve as they dragged Cleaver out through the front door. Steve let go of Cleaver long enough to tug his shirt back on and step into his boots. 

“Book ‘em, Danno,” Steve smiled, whacking Danny on the butt before jumping off the front porch. Commander Marziano appeared through the living room and out the door, securing Cleaver’s other arm, helping Danny lift him. 

“Did he just…..” 

“He did,” Danny nodded. 

“With a piece of gum?”

“He did,” Danny repeated. 

“Crazy son of a bitch….” 

Marziano was shaking his head and laughing all the way to his squad car. 

Steve was already by the tactical van. Patty Cleaver was latched around him with both arms and legs, sobbing on his shoulder. 

“You need to let the paramedics take a look at you, okay, honey?” Steve whispered. “And I’m very sorry for all the harsh language back there.” 

“ ‘s okay,” Patty sniffled. 

A fiery red car raced on scene. Kono leapt out and flew up to the other team members. Marziano had chucked Cleaver into the back of the squad car. Danny turned Steve left and right, examining the trickle of blood on his forehead, unable to do much more assessing because Patty was clutched against Steve’s chest. 

“Paramedics!” Danny shouted, herding Steve in their direction. 

“Situation?” Kono breathed anxiously next to her cousin.

“All good,” Chin laughed. 

“What did I miss?” Kono panted. 

“Oh, nothing,” Chin murmured with a catlike purr and smile. “Boss took down the admiral with a piece of gum.” 

“What?” Kono exclaimed. "Come on. For real?" 

"I got video footage," Chin bragged.


	6. Chapter 6

“Any word?” Danny said, pacing back and forth in order to catch up with Steve, who was pacing back and forth even faster. McGarrett had his phone to one ear, and his other hand cupped over his other ear. He bumped into Danny and came to a halt, smacking Danny on top of the head quickly, and moving around him again. 

“Nothing. This isn’t like her at all,” Steve muttered. 

“It’s not my fault she’s late. Why did you hit me?” Danny muttered, rubbing his head and pacing behind Steve again. 

“Sorry. I’m…you…she’s….it’s fifteen till nine. There are twenty Aloha Girls in there, dancing in place in anticipation. Captain Karlsen promised she would be here, and she wouldn’t break that promise unless something serious had happened,” Steve fretted. 

“You talked to Vince? What did he say?” 

“He said there was a minor mishap on the ordinance range yesterday, but that Captain Karlsen was on her way here to explain in person, and I should wait.” 

“You sound upset.” 

“I am upset!” Steve exclaimed. “Do you want to be the one to go in there and tell the girls that class is cancelled?”

“Steve, you don’t have to cancel the class! This is Fate, that’s what it is. You were meant to be the one to teach this class. You don’t need Captain Karlsen. You and Kono can teach the girls.” 

“I’m pretty sure that’s not going to go over well."

"Are you kidding me? After you saved Patty's life, those little girls think you're a rock star, McGarrett." 

"The agreement was that Tank would teach, and I would help, me and Kono.” 

“Go put on your sweats, get in there, and get busy!” Danny ordered. 

“I’ll help Kono warm them up a little. That’s all,” Steve decided. “You come get me the minute you see Tank pull in.” 

Steve stormed inside the small school which had given them permission to use the gym for the day. Kono was already there, standing in front of the rows of Aloha Girls, walking them through warm-up exercises meant to stretch out their muscles and get them limber. 

The second McGarrett entered the gym, chaos broke out. There were many high-pitched cheers and squeals. Several of the girls ran over to hug him, bump his fists, and tug on his arms. It was like seeing a large fish in the middle of a frenzy of smaller fish. 

Kono turned around with a smile, eyes twinkling merrily. Miss Madeline looked anxious and apologetic. There were parents standing to the sidelines of the wall-to-wall mats, either giving Steve dubious stares or beaming their approval, one way or the other. 

“When are we going to start, Anakala Steve?” One of the smallest members of the troop had managed to climb up McGarrett’s hip and wrap an arm around his neck, hanging on even as he stood up. 

“We’re waiting for Captain Karlsen to arrive. She must be stuck in traffic. But in the meantime, you have to get back in your places, and pay attention to Officer Kono.”

“What are you going to do?” 

“I’m going to change clothes, and then I’m going to listen to Officer Kono too,” Steve replied. 

McGarrett was back on the mats in less than three minutes, wearing sweats and a SEAL teeshirt. He followed Kono through warm-ups, with twenty youngsters mimicking his every move. He had one eye on Kono, and one eye on Danny on the front stoop, waiting for a sign from his partner. 

Williams was chased inside the building by a morning rainstorm. Water droplets and small hailstones pelted the windows. Danny took up position to be able to watch inside and outside at the same time. He smiled as he watched Steve and Gracie. Kono finished walking the girls through their warm-up session.

Danny jumped away from the door when the portal swung open. Ensign Ruskowski entered with an umbrella aloft, pushing the door open wide. She was dressed in a uniform like Captain Karlsen, who hobbled in on crutches. The captain was wearing a leg cast which reached up to the mid-thigh point, but she was maneuvering pretty well. Two more female officers in sweats entered with her. One was carrying her satchel, and the other was there for the scenery, apparently. As McGarrett hurried over, two of the three ensigns lit up with delight and interest. Ruskowski stiffened, looking apologetic. 

“Captain?” Steve bounced quickly over to them. Danny produced a chair seemingly out of mid-air, pushing it towards the injured captain. Miss Madeline and some of the parents crowded around as well. 

“I can stand,” Karlsen protested.

“You are supposed to stay off your feet, Captain,” one of the ensigns tutted gently. 

“What happened to you, Tank?” Steve asked. 

“Ensign Olsen,” Karlsen replied, her voice louder than necessary. “I was on the ordinance range yesterday, on standby in case of emergencies. And a good thing, too. Ensign Olsen lost control of his grenade launcher when I walked past him. He wasn’t prepared for the recoil. I took two hundred twenty pounds of Minnesota muscle right in the knee.” 

“Are you all right?” McGarrett worried.

“I’ll be fine,” Karlsen reassured him.

“What about Olsen? How bad did you beat on him for busting your knee out?” Steve grinned. 

“Olsen will heal, eventually,” Karlsen muttered. “I brought two of my nurses to take my place. Hope you don’t mind, Commander.” 

“Not at all, ma’am,” Steve nodded. 

“Commander,” the three ensigns saluted. McGarrett returned the favor while reading their name tags on their uniforms. Ruskowski, he recognized. The other two were Ramirez and Smythe. Ruskowski looked embarrassed, and could hardly meet Steve’s gaze. The other two smiled happily at him. 

“Where do you want us, sir?” Ramirez breathed, a smile of something close to smitten rapture on her face. Smythe appeared to be of the same opinion. Danny took an immediate dislike to them, of course. The Aloha Girls were gathering around, staring in curiosity. Ruskowski gulped at their approach. 

“Aloha,” she said, giving a slow wave. 

“Aloha,” some of the girls answered back tentatively, mimicking her gesture. The girls circled around Steve again, tugging on his arms, even on the back of his shirt, whispering and worrying among themselves. 

“Commander?” Ruskowski said, nervously, clearing her throat. She saluted him, and he saluted back. 

“Ensign?” Steve stood up straighter. 

“I just wanted to….I wanted to say….”

Steve tilted his head and waited. 

“Captain Karlsen and I had a long talk. You have my apologies for questioning your motives, sir.” 

“Apology accepted,” Steve replied slowly, giving Tank a concerned glance. Was it Danny’s imagination, or was Tank embarrassed? 

“Thank you, sir,” Ruskowki replied. 

“Why can’t you teach us, Uncle Steve?” Grace asked. 

“Um….” McGarrett glanced at Miss Madeline, who was starting to smile. 

“Commander Steve is going to help us out. Provided that the only people he tangles with on the mats are Officer Kono and the other adults, if you get my drift?” Miss Madeline continued, giving McGarrett a meaningful stare. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve agreed immediately. 

“Yes, yes, yes,” Grace chanted, hugging Steve from behind, giving him a very big squeeze around the middle. 

“Girls, back to your spots! Don’t make Officer Kono wait for you!” Miss Madeline ordered, clapping her hands together loudly. 

Kono pulled Steve by the arm up to the front of the room, giving cursory nods of greeting to the two nursing ensigns in sweats. Ruskowski stood by Captain Karlsen’s side. Danny had to admit that Steve was looking much happier than moments ago, although it was obvious he was concerned what Karlsen might have said to Ruskowski which had so swayed her opinion. He took a moment to glance back at them before turning his attention back to Kono. Danny and Madeline helped Captain Karlsen off to the side, propped her leg up on some duffle bags, and leaned her crutches in close reach. Then Danny stood beside her, and beamed proudly at Steve. 

“We’re ten minutes behind. Is that a problem?” Steve whispered to Kono. 

“No worries, Boss,” Kono smiled in reply. Steve’s smile got just a bit wider, even with a few grumblers muttering on the perimeter. 

“Ladies, there are three important rules to remember when it comes to self-defense basics,” Kono began, holding up one finger at a time. “The first thing, the most important thing to remember, is that your body belongs to you. No one has the right to be in your personal space without your permission.’

“The second most important thing to remember is the same goes for other people. You do not have the right to be in their personal space without their permission. Number one – respect yourself. Number two – respect others. Everyone with me so far?”

“Yes, Officer Kono!” the girls replied almost in unison. 

“Stand like this,” Kono demonstrated, legs slightly apart and arms out to her sides. The troop followed suit, and did McGarrett, Ramirez, and Smythe. “This is my space. That’s your space. This is Commander Steve’s space. What happens if I get into Commander Steve’s space?” 

“He will punch you,” Grace replied with a bright, wicked grin. 

“That’s exactly correct,” Kono replied. “That is the third thing to remember when it comes to self-defense. If someone gets in your space, and you do not want them in your space, you have every right to defend yourself and your body.”

“You do not have to be nice. You do not have to be quiet. You do not have to be a good girl, and not make a scene. You own your body. You own your space. You don’t have to let anyone into your space that you do not want there. Those are the three most important rules to remember about self-defense,” Steve picked up on Kono’s words very easily. Danny wondered if they had practiced this together before this morning. 

“Are we done then?” one of the Aloha girls asked, her little voice filled with disappointment. 

“Not yet,” Steve said, shaking his head, chuckling softly. 

“That’s only the start,” Kono interjected. “But I want you to repeat the rules back to me before we begin.’ She raised a hand in the air, held up one finger at a time. “Number One – respect your own space. Number Two – respect the space of others. Number Three – you have the right to defend yourself. Very good! You’re doing great so far. Now the fun starts.”

Without warning, Kono whirled around, grabbed Steve by his right arm and shoulder, and flipped him unceremoniously down on his back on the mat. 

“Ow,” Steve whispered almost inaudibly. Kono leaned over him from above, showing more teeth than a shark.

“You okay, Boss?” 

“Peachy,” Steve squeaked. 

“It’s so sad,” Ruskowski was whispering to Karlsen. Danny concentrated on Steve and Kono, only half listening to the exchange to his right. It was hard to hear their words over the excited squeals and chatter of the Aloha Girls. 

“At ease, Ensign,” Tank whispered back. 

“After what happened to McGarrett, after the way those bastards tortured him, is there any hope he could have kids of his own?” 

“The odds are steeply against it, Ensign."

"No wonder he has a soft spot for kids. I mean, oh my gosh. It's so sad." 

"That information stays between you and me, Ensign. Do I need to explain what confidential means? You shouldn’t have been snooping in his file as it is.”

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry. Thanks for not busting me over that. It’s just so sad. That’s all.”

"Steve will manage. He can always adopt," Karlsen said, giving Danny a meaningful sideways glance. Karlsen adjusted her crutches, but dropped one to the floor. Danny stooped down, and picked it up for her. As he placed it back in her grip, he gave Tank a searching stare, brows bunched together. Captain Karlsen knew from the look on Danny’s face that he had heard the exchange. She shook her head no at Danny, and he held his tongue. 

Steve's fake scream of alarm and then his loud laughter filled the room as Kono directed several Aloha Girls to pounce on him at once. McGarrett crumbled to the mats, dodging tiny feet, unable to stop laughing. It was clear who the biggest kid on the mats was. Danny waited for Miss Madeline to interrupt and order the girls off of Steve. Instead, she stood a step closer to Captain Karlsen, and didn't move an inch. There was a sad smile of understanding on her face as well.

**Author's Note:**

> I _know_ I read a fic recently where Danny was thinking Steve probably knew how to kill a guy using only a stick of gum. Credit to that author for this idea.


End file.
